What Is My Location

MGA Coordinates Converter

Tap once and you get your position as MGA coordinates on GDA2020 — zone, easting and northing, exactly the numbers Australian topographic maps and GIS data use — plus the six-figure grid reference bushwalkers quote and the MGRS square letters printed on map margins. Paste any zone-easting-northing set and it converts back to a point on the map. Everything computes on your device and keeps working offline once loaded.

GDA94 vs GDA2020 — Australia's moving datum

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Zone, easting, northing — reading an MGA position

An MGA position is three numbers: a zone (which 6°-wide slice of longitude you're in — the mainland spans zones 49 in Western Australia to 56 on the east coast), an easting (metres east within the zone, 500,000 at its centre-line), and a northing (metres measured from the equator with a 10,000,000 m offset, so it increases heading north — about 5.25 million at Hobart, 8.6 million at Darwin). Perth sits in zone 50, Adelaide 54, Melbourne 55, Sydney and Brisbane 56. The zone matters as much as the numbers: the same easting and northing exist in every zone, so always quote all three.

MGA is UTM — and the map-margin letters are MGRS

There's no separate mathematics to learn: the Map Grid of Australia is the Universal Transverse Mercator projection applied to the GDA2020 datum on the GRS80 ellipsoid. Same zones, same scale factor, same false origins — an MGA coordinate and a UTM coordinate for the same spot are the same numbers. The two-letter 100 km square codes printed in the corners of topo maps are the MGRS spelling of the same grid, and the everyday six-figure grid reference is just the easting and northing with the big digits chopped off: E 334,900 / N 6,252,288 becomes GR 349 522 — each figure pair naming a 100 m square. This page shows all three forms at once.

GDA2020, GDA94, AMG — the honest metres

Australia rides a fast tectonic plate — about 7 cm north-east per year — and its datums are snapshots of where the country was. GDA2020 (this page) matches where GPS says you are to within roughly half a metre today. GDA94 coordinates, still common in older GIS data, are offset about 1.8 m from GDA2020 — real if you're surveying, invisible on a bushwalk. Maps printed before roughly 2000 used AMG on the AGD66/84 datum, which is shifted by about 200 metres — if a reference from an old map lands you in the wrong paddock, that's why. Check what your phone's fix is actually worth on the GPS accuracy page.

Zones, seams, and beyond the mainland

Crossing a zone boundary changes every digit of an MGA position even though you've moved a metre — near a seam (the 138°E line through South Australia, 144°E through Victoria and 150°E through New South Wales are the ones people actually meet), make sure both parties are working in the same zone before comparing numbers. MGA zones 46–59 also cover the external territories — Cocos Islands in zone 47, Christmas Island 48, Lord Howe 57, Norfolk Island 58, Macquarie Island 57. For positions outside Australia entirely, the UTM/MGRS page is the worldwide equivalent, and if you're quoting a position to emergency services, the emergency location guide covers how to do it clearly.

Frequently asked questions

Is MGA the same as UTM?
Yes — the Map Grid of Australia is the UTM projection applied to the GDA2020 datum on the GRS80 ellipsoid. Zones, eastings, northings and even the MGRS-style 100 km square letters are the same system; MGA is what Australia calls its slice of it. A generic UTM converter and this page give the same numbers.
What's the difference between MGA2020 and MGA94?
The datum underneath. GDA94 froze Australia where the plate sat in 1994; GDA2020 re-fixed it 26 years and about 1.8 metres of plate drift later. The projection is identical, so MGA94 and MGA2020 coordinates for the same spot differ by that ~1.8 m. New data is GDA2020; plenty of older GIS layers are still GDA94.
How do I quote a six-figure grid reference from MGA?
Drop to hundreds of metres: take digits 2–4 of the easting's last six and digits 2–4 of the northing's last six — E 334,900 / N 6,252,288 → GR 349 522. Each pair of three figures names a 100 m square. Say the map sheet or general area with it, since the same six figures repeat every 100 km.
Do I need to correct my GPS for GDA2020?
Not for everyday use. GPS speaks WGS84, which currently sits about half a metre from GDA2020 (the gap grows ~7 cm a year as the plate moves) — well inside a consumer GPS fix's own error. Surveyors use time-dependent transformations; bushwalkers can treat them as the same thing.
Does this work outside the mainland?
Yes — MGA zones 46–59 cover the external territories too: Cocos Islands (zone 47), Christmas Island (48), Lord Howe (57), Norfolk Island (58) and Macquarie Island (57). Positions outside MGA's extent get an honest message pointing at the worldwide UTM/MGRS page instead of wrong-looking numbers.
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